Footnote(s):

1 1 This item and others citing this endnote cover employee fringe benefits. We accept as standard the following treatment of these benefits: the expense incurred by the employer in providing the benefit is properly deductible as a business expense and the benefit is taxed as compensation to the employee as if the employee had received taxable compensation and then used it to purchase the benefit. Of course, there are problems with this analysis. In some cases, the "benefit" is more a condition of employment than a true benefit. For example, a teacher required to have lunch in the school cafeteria may prefer to eat elsewhere even if the school lunch is free. On the other hand, in many cases the provision of tax-free employee benefits is clearly a substitution for taxable compensation.

2 2 This item and others citing this endnote cover contributory pension plans. The standard tax treatment of these plans is as follows:
Component Standard Treatment
Contributions: Made out of income that is currently taxed to employees.
Investment Income: Taxed to the employee as "earned" income.
Distributions from Pension Funds: Tax-free to the extent they are made out of dollars
previously taxed to the employees as contributions
or investment income.
The non-standard treatment of contributions, investment income, or distributions as described in items 1.006, 1.101, 1.104, and 1.402, results in either nontaxation or deferrals of tax.